We are just a month away from the fall season in which the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation will be commemorated on Oct. 31. Each earlier centenary commemoration has been shaped by church and political agendas that reflected the cultural and political context of the time.

The year 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther’s 95 theses in Wittenberg, Germany, which eventually gave rise to what has become known as the Protestant Reformation. In his new book “Martin Luther: An Ecumenical Perspective,” Cardinal Walter Kasper notes that our ideas about Martin Luther have undergone transformations in a number of ways over the past 500 years.

MALMO, Sweden - The saints are blessed because they were faithful and meek and cared for others, Pope Francis said.

LUND, Sweden - Urging Catholics and Lutherans to take decisive steps toward unity, Pope Francis nevertheless offered no new openings to the idea of sharing Communion before full unity is achieved.

"October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day That Changed the World" by Martin Marty. Paraclete Press (Orleans, Massachusetts, 2016). 114 pp., $19.99.

Last year on Reformation Day (Oct. 31) one of my cousins mentioned the Protestant “holiday” on Facebook. It was a celebratory post. “Happy Reformation Day!”